Gate: Thus the World Fought There

Chapter 9: Alnus

(July 4th, 2022)

Bryce's POV

Independence Day Celebrations are rolling through the camp. The murder of Alnus has been solved. However, there was much less partying for the Ranger Airborne Squad. Ramirez's best friend and second-in-command, Bryce Jones, has been reassigned to be the squad leader of this new squad.

"So how's your squad?" Ramirez asked over the radio.

"Nothing much," I responded, "Mainly paratrooper jumps."

I was about to take another puff from my cigarette when...

BOOM!

I jolted from my seat and looked around. We weren't too far from the outer walls of the base.

"The Russians are here!" one of the soldiers shouted.

The PA speakers in the base started to blare:

"General Quarters! Russians are attacking the South Wall!"

I snatched my McMillian Tac-338 and started to run to the southern wall. I could hear shouts, gunfire, and explosions. Tracers bullets and spotlights filled the sky as Russian air support had started to rain hell on the troops below.

"We have to get up on that tower!" Ramirez shouted.

I looked at the tower he was pointing at. There was no way up there except a wooden ladder.

"I'll go up first," I said.

I slung the sniper rifle over my shoulder and ran to the base of the ladder. I stepped onto the first rung of the ladder. The ladder creaked when I climbed higher and higher. Once I reached the top, I took out a small spotting scope and looked down at the carnage. The radio near me started to speak:

"We need more reinforcements! Get Alnus on the line!"

I looked down at the trench lines below me. Tanks and Russian soldiers were farther out.

"We need that air support!" someone requested on the line.

I took out my sniper rifle and looked down the scope. A soldier was lined up in my sights and I pulled the trigger. The rifle bucked back into my shoulder and the Russian soldier fell.

"We won't last long until we get that air support!" the radio squeaked again.

I laid down on the wooden floor of the tower as bullets whizzed over my head.

"Get that Javelin over there!" someone shouted.

I crawled out of the tower and sprinted to the nearest trench. A missile appeared below me and flew upwards into the sky.

"Soldier, get up on that MG!" an officer ordered.

I looked back and he was staring at me.

"Oh shit, he's talking to me," I thought.

The M2 Browning near me was unmanned. However, there was a soldier lying on top of the gun. I pulled the body up and noticed that his face was gone.

"Jesus," I thought while moving the body to the side.

I lifted the receiver and loaded a fresh ammo belt into the gun. The receiver fell down and I yanked on the charging handle.

"Get that gun singing!" the officer screamed.

The officer ran off to the radio station near the gate. I reached for the handles and placed my thumbs over the butterfly switch. The gun shook when I pressed down on the gun, meaning the gun was ready.

"Here, let me take it," someone suggested.

I turned around and saw another soldier standing there with 2 ammo boxes. The yellow lettering showed that they were filled with .50 caliber bullets.

"Thanks," I shouted back.

The guns and explosions drowned out any words softer than a shout. Pieces of the nearby earth flew into the sky and landed in the trenches. I finally reached the field radio and saw the phone. My hands fumbled with the knobs to find the correct frequency.

"We need that air support!" I requested, "These tanks are getting out of hand!"

Chief Airman Howard Lee POV

Calls for air support inundated the radio. I quickly did all of the pre-flight checks while they were reloading the chain gun below. There was a small chopper unit stationed at Italica.

"All choppers, take off and hold orbit," the commander instructed.

My copilot hopped inside and closed the window. The ladder retracted and the last of the pre-flight checks were finished. The ground crew had finished loading the chain gun and got everything ready. I gripped the flight control stick with my right hand.

"Wheels up!" the commander ordered.

I pulled the lever with my left hand and the helicopter started to ascend. My hands maneuvered the chopper into a holding pattern outside of heliport.

"All right, everyone's in the air. Let's Oscar Mike to Alnus," I informed everyone on the radio.

There were six helicopters: two AH-64s, three AH-1Zs, and one UH-60. These six formed an inverted chevron with the UH-60 in the middle.

Bryce's POV

"Air support is 10 mikes out," someone said.

I could hear the whirring of chopper blades in the background meaning that it was the truth. An explosion rang out and something grazed my arm shortly after. I looked down and saw a small tear in my uniform.

"Shit," I thought while taking cover.

There was an abandoned M16A4 near me. I wrapped my hand around the pistol grip and checked the chamber and the magazine. There was only one bullet in total.

"Check the corners!" someone said in Russian.

I peered down the trench and saw 3 Russians making their way to me. I couldn't stay and fight them; I lacked the amount of ammo needed to do the job.

"I'm fucked," I thought while looking down at the rifle.